According to reports, radio in Swaziland is to be banned from broadcasting news and information that does not support the government's own agenda. All radio istations in the region, except one Christian station that does not broadcast news, is state-controlled and already suffers from high levels of censorship.

Transparency International and the hosts of the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference (15th IACC) invite young journalists working in the sub-Saharan Africa region to be part of the anti-corruption conference to be held in Brasilia, Brazil from 7-10 November 2012.

According to Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) broadcasting unit quarterly report, at least ten major broadcasters in Malawi are said to be occupied more in producing sports and entertainment programmes than any other.

A Commission of Enquiry instituted by the Malawi presidency to establish what prompted the police to kill 20 people during a mass demonstration in July 2011 has faulted the media for fanning the violence that led to the death of the people.The findings have however been dismissed by media bodies in the country.

At the risk of over-simplifying the science (and art) that culminates in media placement, one of the guiding principles is positioning around relevant content that is consumed by a predetermined volume of the target market.

The Angolan minister of Social Communication, Carolina Cerqueira, on Thursday, 6 July 2012, in Uige city, advised the journalists of the various organs of the sector in the province and not only to inform with responsibility and exemption, based primarily on real and clear facts.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has hailed Malawian president Joyce Banda for meeting media managers, owners and media organisations at her Sanjika Palace in Blantyre on 25 June 2012, where she pledged to look into some of the challenges the media face in the country.

With 31 December 2013, the day Malawi is expected to switch to digital broadcasting, fast approaching, Malawi has put in place a Digital Migration Communication Strategy expected to provide a framework for communication of the Digital Broadcasting Migration Project.

Bright Malopa, former CEO at state owned broadcaster, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), bemoaned a court ruling last week, where about 300 members of staff of the broadcaster have lost a case over merger of television and radio sections that led to loss of jobs.

The merger of Malawi's two state owned broadcasters, the Malawi Television (TVM) and the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), which failed to take-off due to various technicalities, has been given a much-needed boost after Malawi parliament passed a bill that effectively dissolved TVM.

CANNES, FRANCE: A record 34 301 entries from 87 countries have been submitted to the Cannes Lions 59th International Festival of Creativity, claimed to be one of the largest and most prestigious global international annual awards for creative advertising and communications. South Africa's contribution to the record currently stands at 820 entries. This is the summary of entries by country.

Media practitioners in Malawi underwent a science and health reporting workshop in Blantyre over the weekend, as part of an initiative by Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust (MLW), to equip journalists to establish health as a regular journalism beat.

President Joyce Banda announced on Friday, May 18 2012, that her government will repeal a piece of legislation that was meant to oppress the media which was being championed by the late president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Media freedom is undermined by a lack of information infrastructure as well as skills and literacy to access and critically evaluate information. The ability to access vital information, especially government information, makes it difficult for media practitioners and the general public to accurately report on issues that concern them.

The finalists in the 17th CNN MultiChoice African Journalist competition were announced on 18 May 2012, by Ferial Haffajee, chair of the independent judging panel. This year the competition received entries from 42 countries across the continent, including French and Portuguese speaking Africa.

The Swaziland Government has been accused of trying to close down the press with the publication of a new bill to bar public servants from disclosing any information about their work that relates to 'public policy'.

Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL) and Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) triumphed over all other media institutions in Malawi to emerge as the Best Print and Electronic Media House of the Year respectively at the 2012 MISA-Malawi Annual Media Awards. The winners were announced at a ceremony marking this year's World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) commemoration in Lilongwe on Saturday, 5 May 2012.

The Malawi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Malawi) has asked government to consider repealing all laws that are inconsistent with the constitution and those considered as an insult to the media fraternity in Malawi.

PARIS, FRANCE / DARMSTADT, GERMANY: "A free press is an essential cornerstone of any country based on democracy." So says Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman, in her exclusive interview with the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), to mark 3 May, World Press Freedom Day.

Thomson Reuters, the global news and information company has made the final call for entries to the 2012 Kurt Schork Memorial (KSM) Awards which will take place in London in November, and made the announcement of a seminar on reporting on terrorism and global security.

The Association of Environmental Journalists in Malawi (AEJ-Malawi) has hailed the country's new president Joyce Banda for creating a ministry responsible for environment and climate change management and subsequently appointing Catherine Gotani Hara as minister responsible.

The Malawi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Malawi) has announced how charged media practitioners are for this year's celebrations of the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) on 3 May 2012.